The Viking Age may have ended over a thousand years ago but those seafaring warrior pirates continue to capture our imagination to this day. Growing up I knew that Thor was the god of thunder because of some silly boy comics that I never read (eeeew… boy comics) and being Canadian I had learned that the Vikings had an abandoned settlement at L’anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Oh, and they wore helmets with horns on their heads (except that they didn’t). I didn’t really learn about the Viking Age until University, and I was immediately hooked! Their history, both ruthless and glorious, when not fighting each other, out raiding first for riches and later for lands, slaves and fame. Then of course there’s their ships, weapons, jewelry, art, magic runes and stories that rival the Greek myths. Learning to translate Beowulf was painful but its still my favorite epic! When I discovered that the Scandinavians were also one of the oldest cultures to have knitting, well that was a rabbit hole that I happily got lost in, from Nalbinding / Viking knitting to Icelandic sweaters to Dale of Norway to Selbu mittens. I fell hopelessly in love.
Now, thanks to the popularity of the series Vikings on Netflix and Marvel movies, I’ve actually met small children named Odin and Thor and Freya (So cute!). And I swear whenever I’m out walking or hiking and we meet someone with a husky, there’s a 50/50 chance his name is Loki. Great big beards, grand full arm tattoos with Vegvisir compasses, Ydrassil trees or Thor's hammer, LARP festivals, carved axes, silver intwined jewelry, and drinking horns, I'm not so secretly hoping that the fascination with Viking culture is here to stay.
My little tribute to the Vikings are my Viking Ship Mittens (I know, not a very original name). It has a Draken ship, high seas, the North wind, protective shields and the magic rune symbol, the Web of Wyrd, intertwining past, present and future, just like what you are doing when you are knitting. What better show of adventure, love and protection could you ask for?
Comentarios